Babe's Chicken Dinner House

The Babe’s Family

Have you ever told your family what you’d do different if you opened a restaurant? Grandma’s recipes, friendly people. Well, that’s exactly why we opened Babe’s Chicken Dinner House. We wanted a sit-down restaurant where people really feel at home. Babe’s is a casual place where you’ll feel comfortable in your blue jeans or cutoffs. Where your neighbors wait on you and your whole family.

We put our money in our food, not in a freeway location or fancy decor. Since we don’t advertise a lot, we kind of depend on our customers to get the word out. So bring the kids and bring Aunt Hazel, but leave that dog at home!

Now here’s some history and facts about us:

In 1981 Paul and Mary Beth Vinyard opened their first Country Cooking restaurant and named it Bubba’s, after Paul’s nickname. It’s located in Dallas, on Hillcrest near S.M.U. and is in a 1927 Texaco service station converted to an Art Deco styled restaurant. While much of the food is similar to Babe’s, it has walk-up counter service and a drive-thru window.

On April 22, 1993 they opened their second restaurant and named it Babe’s Chicken Dinner House, located in a 1908 warehouse in Roanoke, Texas. “Babe” was Mary Beth’s nick name; she developed the recipes so we named the restaurant Babe’s. While we are all saddened by the loss of “Babe” in 2008, we are very proud of the legacy she created.

Over the years we have developed a broader menu for Babe’s, which we serve at the other locations in Garland, Sanger, Carrollton, Burleson, Granbury, Frisco, Cedar Hill and Arlington. The menu includes a non-fried item: hickory smoked chicken. Also, our fried catfish is served with green tomato relish that’s canned especially for us – some people call it green tomato chow-chow.

The Vinyard family’s other restaurant is Sweetie Pie’s Ribeyeslocated on the square in Decatur, Texas. Whenever Paul was in trouble with Mary Beth, he’d call her “Sweetie Pie,” so it only seemed appropriate. It features rib eye steaks, but you’ll also find a filet mignon, chicken fried rib eye (a Vinyard family favorite), fried catfish, hamburgers and more.

Hopefully, you find our food better than typical restaurants. The difference comes by buying the highest quality meats, vegetables and other ingredients, and preparing them as you would at home. To keep everything as fresh as possible we prepare small amounts of each recipe over and over, so the last customer has a meal just as good as the first customer.